


Cold Hearth

by rewire



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: (to some extent), Case Fic, Gen, Remix, broken relationships, post-sealing (implied)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21897325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rewire/pseuds/rewire
Summary: Reborn comes to town to teach the young heir to the Vongola. What he gets is not quite what he expected.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 92
Collections: 2019 KHR Winter Remix Fest Round 2: Remixes





	Cold Hearth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Metronome_I_Hear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metronome_I_Hear/gifts).
  * Inspired by [For Want of a Word](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21274424) by [Metronome_I_Hear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metronome_I_Hear/pseuds/Metronome_I_Hear). 



> I hope you enjoy this, Mei! I really wanted to see what happened when Tsuna grew up, so that's the inspiration I took when writing this. I hope your winter holidays go well!!

The house is silent. 

That should have been Reborn’s first warning right there. He took note of it, but ignored the implications. A silent house could mean many things, not all of them bad. The heir was at school at the moment, something that meant a still body in the upstairs room. 

Tsunayoshi was homeschooled, and that should have been Reborn’s second warning. Still, he ignored it, because homeschooled didn’t necessarily mean anything but the fact that Sawada Nana had chosen to keep her son close. 

The woman herself is sitting across from him, a cup of tea cradled in her hands. Reborn has a cup of espresso for himself, the dark scent of it hanging near his head. He narrows his eyes at Sawada and pick it up. He takes a sip. He doesn’t say anything. 

Sawada is the one who breaks the silence. “I appreciate your offer Reborn-san, but I am satisfied with my son’s progress in school. I don’t think he needs a tutor as of now.”

“There’s always room for improvement, Sawada-san,” Reborn says, carefully neutral. There’s something delicate about her, like tempered glass, that makes him careful about saying too much. He’s not sure if pushing would lead her to bend, or to break. “I think you’d be surprised at the difference an outside perspective can make.”

Sawada takes another sip of her tea, and shakes her head. Reborn can hear the soft sound of her hair sweeping along her shoulder, the swish of her swallowing. The house settles around them, creaking a little as the morning sun warms one side of it.

When Sawada takes a breath to speak, it seems loud, though Reborn knows that objectively, it only seems that way because the house is so still. “My son is passing all of his classes, Reborn-san. He is doing exceptionally well in the subjects relevant to his future, and as his mother, I can ask no more than that. While I appreciate your enthusiasm for tutoring, I am afraid this household has no need of your services. If that is all…?”

Reborn can do nothing but nod. This approach is clearly doing him no good. He’s the World’s Best Hitman, he knows how to plan around the unexpected obstacles. “Thank you for your time, Sawada-san. I hope you have a good day.”

“Thank you, Reborn-san. To you as well.” 

Without further ado, he is ushered outside and left on the porch. The door shuts behind him with a _click,_ and Reborn is suddenly aware of how _loud_ it is out of the Sawada’s residence. The wind is whistling through the trees, there are distant cars running along the road, and faintly, a songbird is chirping out a song. 

Reborn takes a deep breath. It’s time to try a different approach. 

Sawada Tsunayoshi doesn’t leave the house often, but when he does, it is to go to the market. Often times his mother will accompany him to buy the day’s groceries, but today she stays home. Maybe she senses that Reborn means to confront him. Maybe she was simply tired.

Either way, Reborn trails the young heir to market, Leon on the brim on his fedora. 

Tsunayoshi is strange. The first time Reborn had seen him, he had thought the young heir to be sick; even in the warm summer air, he wore a scarf and a thick jacket. Underneath his summer tan, Tsunayoshi’s skin was washed out, nearly anemic. 

But no. As Reborn continued to watch him, he found that the winter grab was simply Tsunayoshi’s custom. Even when it got warmer, all Tsunayoshi did was forgo his scarf for a day. The sun was beating down, but Reborn could have sworn he saw the young heir _shiver._

Tsunayoshi is always cold. This should have been Reborn’s third warning. 

He disregards it though, and follows Tsunayoshi. The boy doesn’t do much more than buy vegetables and meat though, stopping only to consider the difference between two cuts of chicken before buying one and moving on. 

Tsunayoshi moves like he has a one track mind, like he can see no other path forward than the one he’s taking now. Reborn is going to have to train that out of him. A mafia boss had to be prepared to make multiple plans of action.

Finally, just as Tsunayoshi finishes shopping, Reborn decides it’s time to act. As the boy walks back towards his house, he picks an alleyway close to him, and throws a rock at a trash can, making a loud sound. 

Frustratingly enough, Tsunayoshi doesn’t turn to investigate the noise, so Reborn resorts to something more direct. 

“Sawada Tsunayoshi,” he says, as loud as his child’s voice will allow. “Come here, I have something for you.”

At this, Tsunayoshi stops, turning slowly. He drops his grocery bag with little care, probably bruising the vegetables in it, and walks into the alley. He doesn’t look scared at all. Reborn chalks it up to the time of day and the location. It’s sunny outside, and the alley is close to the street; if Tsunayoshi screams, someone will surely hear him.

“Who are you?” Tsunayoshi asks. His hands are loose fists, but Reborn can’t see any formal training in his stance. 

“I’m Reborn, the World’s Greatest Hitman,” he replies. “I’m here to make you into a mafia boss.”

Strangely enough, that doesn’t get any reaction from Tsunayoshi besides a vague interest. There is no screaming. There is no denial. There is… nothing. Reborn fights back a shiver. The heir of the Vongola stares at him, and his eyes are like ashes. “You have a nice heart, hitman-san. I’m going to take it now.” 

The alley is silent for another second and Reborn doesn’t respond. 

The warnings are clear now. He doesn’t know what happened, but something in Tsunayoshi’s past had gone very, very wrong.

**Author's Note:**

> bonus points if you catch the reference, I'll edit after reveals with what it is
> 
> edit: the last line is a paraphrased reference to the bifrost incident! similar scary spooky vibes, and i liked the nod to case-fic there <3


End file.
